MOMOYA TV-Ads164-1983-O! EC Monogatari

Time: 30 sec.

Product Name: EDO-MURASAKI-O!-EC-DESU

Description of Product: EDO-MURASAKI-O!-EC-DESU is a savory preserve made of seaweed, called “Nori-no-tsukudani” in Japanese. It is made with soy sauce, sugar, mirin (rice wine) and also contains vitamin E and calcium. It is preservable, and often eaten with Japanese rice.

Year: 1983

Advertiser: Momoya Co., Ltd.

Advertising Agency: YOMIKO Advertising Inc.

Production Company: Cinq Co., Ltd.

Description of Title: This title, “O! EC Monogatari,” is a kind of wordplay which has two different meanings. The capital letter E in “O! EC” is for vitamin E, and C is for calcium that is contained in this product. On the other hand, in Japanese, “Oishii” means "tasty" or "sweet," and “Monogatari” means a "story" or a "tale." Therefore, “O! EC Monogatari” can be interpreted as “a story of vitamin E and calcium,” and it also means “a story about something tasty or sweet.”

Set in a daytime shopping street, the opening scene introduces a young blond guy in a white suit stands to pick up a girl. He immediately finds a beautiful girl in a pink skirt and a sky-blue jacket, who weaves her blown hair into ponytail with a yellow ribbon. Although he waits for her posing with a cigarette, she ignores him and walks down a street alone. Being kept chasing persistently, she gets angry and jabs his stomach with her elbow. Then, he transforms into a superhero, as a last resort, to impress her. The hero in this scene is a parody of “Superman,” and its film sequel “Superman III,” starring Christopher Reeve, was released in 1983.